Burntwood School is a girls'

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...

with academy status, located in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, opened in September 1986. It is one of the largest state schools for girls at the secondary level in the country.

History

The school opened in September 1986, replacing Garratt Green Comprehensive Girls' School, which had formerly occupied the site, and nearby Mayfield School for Girls. The first headmistress of Burntwood was Brigid Beattie-Moriarty. Her obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' called the school "an outstanding centre of multi-cultural education". The school converted to academy status on 1 July 2013. Burntwood School is recognised as a Science Specialist School and has the 'Sportsmark' and 'Artsmark Gold' awards. It has also received the Rights Respecting UNICEF Gold Award.

Enrolment

For the 2008–09 school year, there were 1,733 pupils enrolled at the school. In September 2009, the school admitted 283 new students: 71 places are offered to the girls who scored highest in the Wandsworth Year 6 Test; the remaining 212 places are offered to siblings of current students and then to those girls living closest to the school. While nominally an all-girls school, Burntwood has a small number of male students in the

. In 2002, for example, two percent of the pupils were male.

Buildings

For the school year beginning September 2012, students moved into the new buildings which have been under construction the last two years. Fully complete in 2014, the project that cost £40.9 million saw the opening of six new buildings (four four-storey teaching pavilions, a new sports hall and a new performing arts buildings) to create a new-look campus. In October 2015, Burntwood School won the RIBA

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

, the UK's leading architecture award.

Notable former pupils

Clara Amfo Clara Amfo (born 22 May 1984) is a British radio broadcaster, television presenter, podcast host and voice-over artist. She is known for presenting her shows on BBC Radio 1. Early life and education Amfo was born in Kingston upon Thames in Lo ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

presenter and DJ. * Ashley Charles (Amplify Dot), Rapper and Radio DJ. *

Pearl Mackie Pearl Mackie is a British actress. She is best known for playing Bill Potts in the long-running television series ''Doctor Who''. Mackie is a 2010 graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her first major television role came in 2014, wh ...

, actress,

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

companion. *

Jessica Plummer Jessica Kate Plummer (born 16 September 1992) is an English actress and singer. From 2013 to 2015, she was a member of the British girl group Neon Jungle, with whom she released an album that peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart. She is ...

, singer in

Neon Jungle Neon Jungle were a British girl group consisting of Shereen Cutkelvin, Amira McCarthy, Jessica Plummer, and Asami Zdrenka. They were best known for their second single " Braveheart", which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Their 20 ...

(2013-2015) and actress,

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

External links

Official Website

Ofsted inspection reports for Burntwood School

References

{{authority control Girls' schools in London Secondary schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth Academies in the London Borough of Wandsworth Educational institutions established in 1986 1986 establishments in England